Wednesday, March 01, 2006
If you can't beat 'em, sue 'em
Or how some people think opposition to abortion is a conspiracy in restraint of commerce.
I find it amuesing that the plaintiffs probably wouldn't like an agrument that anti-war protests are an illegal conspiracy to harm the oil business.
In a unanimous 8-0 decision announced on February 28, the Supreme Court apparently put an end to a 20-year case, NOW v. Scheidler, in which abortion advocates sought damages against prominent pro-life organizers, claiming that they were engaged in an illegal conspiracy to harm the abortion business.
The abortionists' lawsuit was brought under the federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) law. The novel effort to portray pro-lifers as gangsters led to a long series of legal challenges and maneuvers, and the case has come up before the Supreme Court on three separate occasions.
I find it amuesing that the plaintiffs probably wouldn't like an agrument that anti-war protests are an illegal conspiracy to harm the oil business.
